[ isn't it the other way around? a gun sitting by without use... that's the way it should be.

every conversational turn is another reminder that heine is different. that heine's priorities have been flipped to an unrecognizable conformation. ]

I dunno. Same reason people keep pets, I guess.

[ they force you to care about a sliver of life outside the expanse of your own body. life that's wholly dependent upon your ability to care for it.

maybe that's taking it too far. rin raised a puppy as a child, and there were times when he loved her more than he loved himself.

but a plant — that's a symbol. a fragment of green in tellus's technological haze. rin doesn't know how to put that thought into words, or he doesn't want to watch heine's expression lighten with condescension were he to try, so he closes his teeth around the sentiment. ]

You could get a dog instead, if plants aren't your thing. A yappy robot pomeranian.